'Can You Afford to Retire?’ Class Set for March 13th in Oak Forest

On March 13th, Greg Kurinec of Bentron Financial Group delivers, "Can You Afford to Retire?" at Acorn Public Library in Oak Forest.

On March 13th, Greg Kurinec of Bentron Financial Group delivers, "Can You Afford to Retire?" at Acorn Public Library in Oak Forest. (Posted By Matt Baron/Inside Edge PR, Community Contributor)

Posted By Matt Baron/Inside Edge PR, Community Contributor

Can you afford to retire?

Depending on your situation, it’s a simple question that you may welcome with a sense of accomplishment or receive with more than a little concern.

That provocative, but urgent, question is also the title of a free presentation delivered by a retirement expert on Thursday, March 13th at the Acorn Public Library. Starting at 7 p.m., Greg Kurinec of Bentron Financial Group will guide attendees through several self-evaluation exercises that help reveal their readiness for retirement. Thereafter, attendees will be introduced to 10 critical questions that every retiree must answer before embarking on a successful retirement.

Students will then discuss the basic need for an estate and/or a financial plan. Kurinec will then walk attendees through an estate analysis questionnaire and provide an example of a balance sheet.

To pre-register for the event, call the library at 708-687-3700. The library is at 15624 S. Central Ave. in Oak Forest.

Kurinec began with Bentron, based in Naperville, in 2004. Bentron founder Jim Flanagan has been advising people at or near retirement age for more than 20 years. For the past 15 years his specialties have included counsel on how and when to tap into Social Security benefits.

The company is online at www.bentron.com.

Kurinec began with Bentron, based in Naperville, in 2004. Bentron Financial Group’s founder is Jim Flanagan, who been advising people at or near retirement age for more than 20 years. For the past 15 years his specialties have included counsel on how and when to tap into Social Security benefits.

One of the biggest reasons for the session, said Flanagan, is to correct flawed counsel that has permeated the industry for years: “The thinking used to be, `Who knows how long you’re going to live? Get the money as quick as you can,’” Flanagan noted.

But that strategy flies in the face of the population’s increasing longevity. Those in their 60s, Flanagan said, should anticipate living another 30 years.

“People are living so much longer than they ever have before,” said Flanagan. “And unlike your investment accounts, your social security check stays the same or goes up over time. It’s a check that you can never outlive and it’s vital that you look hard at your best strategy to get the biggest check for the longest period of time.”

Currently, the earliest age you can collect Social Security is 62. However, your benefit is reduced by 30 percent if you begin taking Social Security that early—and by the time you are 72 to 75, the advantage of early benefits has evaporated.

The normal age for beginning to receive benefits is 67 and the latest you can defer is 70. A typical monthly Social Security check is now climbing toward $1,500, though there is nothing typical about any given individual, Flanagan emphasized.

“These blanket strategies for approaching Social Security simply don’t work,” he said. “Everyone’s situation is so unique and specific.”

To anyone who is skeptical that Social Security will remain intact in the coming years, Flanagan has a firm message: “I believe strongly that Social Security will be around for future generations. We need to believe that and we need to demand that.”